Veteran Kashmiri leader Prof Abdul Gani Bhat dies at 90
Prof Abdul Gani Bhat, a prominent Kashmiri academic and former Hurriyat leader, passed away on Wednesday evening
SRINAGAR, Jammu and Kashmir (MNTV) — Prof Abdul Gani Bhat, a prominent Kashmiri academic and former Hurriyat leader, passed away on Wednesday evening at his residence in Botingoo, Sopore, after a brief illness. He was 90.
Family members confirmed his death and said arrangements for funeral prayers will be announced later.
Born in 1935 in Botingoo, Baramulla district, Bhat grew up in a family that valued learning. After graduating from Srinagar’s SP College, he completed postgraduate studies in Persian and earned a law degree from Aligarh Muslim University.
He began his career teaching Persian at Poonch’s Government Degree College, a post he held for over two decades before turning to politics.
Bhat entered public life in 1986 as a co-founder of the Muslim United Front (MUF), which challenged the National Conference–Congress alliance in the 1987 Assembly elections.
The MUF’s defeat — widely attributed to electoral malpractice — became a turning point in Kashmir’s politics. His activism led to his dismissal from government service on “security grounds.”
He later emerged as a key figure in the self-determination movement, helping form the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) in 1993 and later serving as its chairman.
Bhat also led the Muslim Conference, a party banned by Indian authorities in 2019.
Although firmly committed to Kashmiri self-determination, Bhat was regarded as a moderate voice within the Hurriyat. He was known for candid views, intellectual depth and willingness to critique both the state and colleagues in the movement.
His writings and speeches often urged dialogue and fresh approaches to the region’s future.
In 2022, he was questioned by the Jammu and Kashmir State Investigation Agency over alleged links to “terror financing,” underscoring the turbulence that marked much of his career.
Tributes poured in after his death. Mirwaiz Umar Farooq called him on X “an affectionate elder, a dear friend and colleague… a sincere and visionary leader.”
For many in Kashmir, Bhat will be remembered as a scholar, political thinker and one of the last towering figures of the region’s self-determination politics.
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